TorrentFreak

While Thou Shalt Not Steal is one of the best known ten commandments, there is no directive ordering Thou Shalt Not Copy. This glaring loophole in God’s law, which runs contrary to established entertainment industry doctrine, apparently allows priests to watch pirated Oscar review copies of major movies without concern. Meanwhile, over in the Vatican, pirates are having the time of their lives downloading some quite eye-watering media.

Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde has revealed that the words of an MPAA lawyer several years ago inspired the creation of the Missionary Church of Kopimism. The Church hit the headlines this week and was met largely by words of tolerance, but a Catholic bishop has just labeled it “farcical” since it has no God. Interestingly, Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge mulls the idea that ‘pirate’ communications may now be barred from evidence in court.

Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing.

The ‘religious’ comedy Salvation Boulevard premiered in movie theaters last Friday, but not everyone appreciates the film’s humor. The Church of God has sued Sony Pictures, IFC Films and Comcast for infringing the copyright of the church’s logo, and is praying to stop the film’s distribution. In addition the church demands financial compensation for the substantial and irreparable harm the infringements have caused.

Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have attempted to get their newly-founded religion accepted by the authorities. The Church of Kopimism, which currently has close to 1,000 members, hope that official recognition of their values would make them immune from prosecution. However, the Swedish authorities have denied the request for the second time in succession.

A group of self-confessed radical pirates are pinning their hopes on gaining official recognition of their own unique belief system. The founders of the Missionary Church of Kopimism – who hold CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – hope that along with this acceptance will come harmony, not just with each other, but also with the police.

The file-sharing, copyright and piracy debate continues to burn just as aggressively today as it did with the dawn of Napster. When compared to the seemingly endless wars of words over religion, however, it’s only just begun, but the opposing sides in both debates seem equally polarized. So, for an argument that will probably never end, let’s bring them both together.